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Japanese Keyaki Wood Tabako-Bon Smoking Box browse these categories for related items... All Items: Antiques:Regional Art:Asian:Japanese:Furniture: Pre 1900: item # 170324 Please refer to our stock # 11A-101 when inquiring.
B & C Antiques P. O. Box 291 Derby, CT 06418 203-929-7312 Guest Book $595 |
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This handsome Japanese tobacco box, made from finely grained keyaki wood, is crafted in miniature naga-hibachi (long firebox) form. Late 19th century. An inner wood lip encloses the original copper liner, and the bamboo cylinder ash receptacle is also original. There is one tiny drawer which has been cut from the same piece of hardwood as the body, so the grain across the drawer front is perfectly matched with the box. Fourteen large copper studs decorated the top rim, and the ring drawer pull is also crafted of copper. On the two ends are inset copper finger holes with which to lift the box. The mortise-and-tenon, dove-tail and mitre joinery is indicative of very fine craftsmanship, and the keyaki wood has a wonderful mellow patina resulting from years of exposure to heat and smoke. Keyaki (zelkova) is the most expensive of Japanese hardwoods. It has a beautiful dense grain and is sturdy and long-lasting, requiring little maintenance. Also called guest hibachi, all tabako-bon contained two essential parts: (1) a small receptacle like a miniature hibachi where small bits of charcoal (sumi) were kept burning among ashes for use in lighting tobacco, and (2) a piece of slender bamboo, cut right below a joint, which was used as both an ashtray and a hand-held cuspidor. Some boxes also had little drawers built in for keeping tobacco and pipes. Tobacco boxes reached their peak use in the Edo period, when smoking was widespread among both men and women and etiquette demanded that tobacco be offered to visitors or friends. Custom demanded that whenever a visitor arrived, the first act of welcome would be to set a small personal hibachi in front of him. This was also true of commercial shops. The strong kizami tobacco was smoked only in small amounts in slender pipes with tiny pipe bowls (kiseru). Production of smoker’s hibachi ceased at the end of the 19th century, when cigarettes became fashionable and virtually replaced pipe smoking. Finished on the top and all four sides, this finely-crafted old box makes a charming interior accessory which views well from any angle. It is suitable for burning incense, holding a flower arrangement or adorning a coffee table or sideboard. It also may be used for its traditional purpose. CONDITION is excellent. DIMENSIONS: 13 ½” x 6 ¾” x 6” high. |
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